USB drive adapter for rs-232 communications

[gromit68]

I received a flier today for a local machinery dealer, advertising this:

http://www.calmotion.com/usbcnc.html

It is priced at $750

I don't need or want usb badly enough for that price, but I am curious how well this works.

[Donkey Hotey]

I too have seen that and I would love to see my VF-2's floppy drive go away. Unfortunately, that device looks like it's little more than a surrogate computer.

Basically, if you can do it with a computer and a serial cable, you can do it with that device:

• Drip feed of programs too large for your machine's memory.
• Upload/Download of programs from USB, to the adapter, to the Haas.

For my money, I'd buy a cheap computer so I could actually write and edit my programs on a real keyboard. As a bonus, I could upload/download from USB to the control.

I think the target market is a place where they don't want to have a computer sitting next to every machine but they still need the storage capabilities a dedicated computer could offer.

At least that's my uninformed impression of it.

[djr76]

Thats far cheaper than E-net, Hard drive, USB option, part# 93-5751B which cost $3,095 plus labor cost to install. Nice find.

[Donkey Hotey]

Yes, it's cheaper but it doesn't work the same. You can't just list a directory on the Haas control (the way you could if you had the USB option).

The device feeds the program to the Haas exactly the same way you would with an external computer: initiate the transfer from the device, then 'receive RS232' on the Haas.

[big_mak]

Besides the USB is standard now on any new Haas I believe. I'm not 100% sure about the toolroom seires.

[Donkey Hotey]

Yup. I just bought a TL-1 and it came standard with the LCD-15 screen and USB.

On their 'Inventory Reduction' page, there are a few older screened models but I wouldn't touch one--if for no other reason than the USB port.

[gromit68]

Those of us with older controls are often looking for an alternative to floppies and using a pc for rs-232. No, it is not as easy to use as a built-in USB port. A while back on this forum, a guy had been trying to develop ( hack ) a retrofit that would allow you to use a media card. I never heard the outcome of this.

I think the creativity exhibited in this group can be amazing at times, those that are not limited by what has already been done.